UCAS Points: AEA and Grades 6/7/8

Hey guys,

I am a little confused on these two issues.

An AEA is like some sort of extension paper, but is it worth it? Does it even contribute to your UCAS Points or what? I'm planning to do one in English (not sure about anything else).

Also, I've heard that if you get a grade 6 or above in an instrument this might contribute to ur ucas points thingy. if this is true - then what number of points would i get for a grade 6 distinction (flute)//and is it worth bringing my grade 5s (clarinet/sax) to grade 6s too?

Thanks loads,

Rudy

Reply 1

staylor

I dont known about AEAs and UAS points, but be assured that AEAs are very well respected and universities know how hard it is to pass them. Most universities dont go by UCAS points anyway nowadays.

Grades 6-8 do bring up your UCAS points but not nearly so much as A-Levels. It is worth doing though if you think you can do so without too much of a problem. If nothing else, showing that you have grade 6 in two or three different instruments is a feat that few acheive!

Reply 2

kellywood_5

AEAs are worth 40 points for a Distinction and 20 for a Merit, but this is irrelevant really considering students capable of passing an AEA generally go to top universities, which use grades rather than the UCAS tariff to make offers. As for music exams, grade 6 practical is worth 45 points for a Distinction, 40 for a Merit and 25 for a Pass. Grade 6 theory is worth 15 points for a Distinction, 10 for a Merit and 5 for a Pass. So really it would only be worth improving on your grade 5s for personal satisfaction and to look good, unless you want to go to a uni that makes offers based on points and will accept music qualifications as part of the total.

Reply 3

jellybones

Most good universities wont accept grades in musical instruments as qualifications or part of the UCAS tariff but they do look good on a personal statement. Also I have a friend who's practically fluent in French and was going to do an AEA but was advised not to as, again any good university won't accept them.

Reply 4

kellywood_5

jellybones

Do you mean 'practically fluent' as in he's lived there for years or has a French parent or something? If so, that could be the reason the university wouldn't accept it, just like some won't accept an A-level in a 'foreign' language that you're actually a native speaker of.

Reply 5

silent ninja

There's hardly any uni's including AEA's in their offers, and i reckon a lot of students that do eventually take AEA's, hadnt actually decided they would do so at the time of filling in their UCAS form (so the uni doesnt know you're going to take it). On top of that most teachers havent even heard of them, let alone students. So i dont see much of a point at present.